An Indian kind of day…

Yesterday was a day that you’ll only experience in India.  Sometimes these days are funny to me.  Other times they are very frustrating, and I have to keep praying that God gives me His eyes to view this world and not my own.  Yesterday was one of those days.

A sandwich shop opened near our apartment just a few days after I got to India.  We stopped in, and the owner told us that he was only selling coffee right then but would start selling sandwiches the following week.  We came back, and he said that he was only selling coffee right then but would start selling sandwiches on Oct 1.  I came back yesterday, and he said that he was only selling coffee right then but would start selling sandwiches next week.  As a culture, Indians don’t say no.  They just keep saying “next week” or “in 5 minutes”.  I wanted that sandwich, and it frustrates me when I feel like I'm getting the run around.  I wish he'd just tell me the straight answer, even if the answer is that he's only ever going to sell coffee and never have a sandwich in that place as long as it's open.  At least then I'd know.    

Then I got on the bus to meet Brent so that we could go to the cricket game.  We'd purchased a monthly bus pass a few days ago, so all I have to do is show the pass and I can go wherever I want.  But the way the bus attendants view the passes seems so arbitrary.  The first time we used it, the guy made us show identification and scanned the info so closely I thought he was going to ask us to get off.  Not one person since then has even asked for ID or given more than a quick glance to see that we even had a pass.  Yesterday the attendant decided that I needed to sign my pass (why this time and not the others?).  He pointed to where I should sign and gave me a pen.  I signed and gave it back.  He reviewed it and then, clearly displeased, told me that he wanted me to instead sign it about 2 cm below where I had already signed it.  He handed it back and made me do it again.  With both signatures on there, he was pleased and let me go sit down.  Seriously, what the heck is that about?  

After meeting Brent, we went outside to meet the cab that we’d scheduled for pickup at 4:30 pm to take us to the game.  The cab didn't come.  Brent called and tried to talk to the driver, but he barely spoke any English.  He finally just hung up on Brent and never came.  At 4:45 pm, the cab company called and said they were sending someone else.  That cab never came either.  So we called the security desk at work and asked them to book us a cab.  At about 5 pm we finally had a cab.  Being on time (or even showing up at all) isn't a given here.  And the most frustrating part to me is that I'm helpless to do anything about it.  Complaining to the company won't do any good, and getting mad only hurts me.  Aaarrrrggggg!

Clearly none of these things individually is a big deal.  But sometimes I feel like I’m living in this ridiculous world where things happen for no reason.  Like I’m Alice in Wonderland.  There are certainly days when we get a good laugh out of all things ridiculous.  We just shake our heads, giggle, and wonder how in the world things ever get done.  But some days it just gets to me.  I really want God to continue to give me a love for the Indian people, their culture, their unique way of doing things, and their country.  I’m no better than anyone else, and my ways are not the right ways.  God tells us that His ways are so much higher than ANY of our ways…mine included (probably mine especially!).  I’m sure He looks at me sometimes and just shakes His head at my ridiculousness. 

Thankfully the day ended well, though.  We saw one of the best cricket matches in the history of the league.  Bangalore played South Africa, and won 215-214 in a walk-off sixer (kind of like a home run) on the last pitch of the game.  We found out that those were the first and second highest scores in the history of the league, and we saw one of only 3 centuries in the history of the league (when a single player scores 100 runs).  We had such a fun time, and by the end Brent and I were jumping up and down, high-fiving the Indians around us.  Everyone had a common bond in our support of the Bangalore team.  We were back to being one of them and not being frustrated by them.  

India, you’re definitely one of a kind!